Beginning Nov 10th, the Black & White crew will gather together to film the much anticipated spin off movie. Roughly budgeted at 350 million TWD, the film is expected to complete production in 115 days and premiere next summer.
Continue reading Black & White prepares to hit the big screen (finally)
The 44th Golden Bell Award nominations came out on the 10th. I planned to write a paragraph or two about it and cram it in one of those E-News Round Ups (read the last AND first one here). But since 1) I’ve already devoted a hefty amount of time recapping some of the dramas and 2) condensing the information (and comments) into a few paragraphs is going to test my ability to be succinct (translates to: too much trouble), I thought I might as well do it the proper respect and give it its own post.
In summary, there is a total of 1,435 pieces competing for 33 awards this year. Out of the submitted pieces, only 149 made it to the final round at the award ceremony, which is scheduled to be hold on — mark your calendar (or wait for my after post) — the 16th of October.
As a compromise between the poll result and what I was willing to do, I’ve decided to write an After Post rather than a comprehensive Overview. The latter simply takes too much time.
In this After Post, I’ll rant and rave about what I liked (characters) and what I didn’t like (characters!) — because I’ve been itching to dissect them for a long time! *evil cackle* I’ll re-post a selection of screen shots since they sum up the fine points of this drama quite well. Finally, by reader Lisa’s request, I’ll talk about my expectation of the Black & White movie to wrap up this post. (God, I sound like a snotty critic writing this! And, it’s about to get worse… Bear with me.)
It came after all, the danger of carrying the chip. A self-important killer steps out in front of Xi Ying and rests his rifle on one shoulder. He smirks arrogantly and says, “Kill you or not, I’ll get the chip.” — speaking too soon — before the smug smile can disappear, the lights in the subway station shut off.
Mr. Chen is taken away.
Mr. Chen is blindfolded and brought to a warehouse.
Mr. Chen’s protectors are all dead.
Mr. Chen’s disappearance nearly drove his daughter crazy.
Despite its 2.12 average rating, Black & White‘s success can be seen on PSP, torrent, youtube/dailymotion, and various self-hosted video streaming sites and blogs — hardly a profit-friendly recognition, but I hope there’s enough revenue made to cover the costs. Director Tsai, the man who made the drama possible, who is going to make the sequel movie possible, is at core, the real star of the show.
Patty Hou’s interview with Tsai Yueh Hsun and his wife Yu Xiao Hui on Azio Entertainment reveals Director Tsai to be more than the fortitudinous director with vision and ambition; he is at once a man with depth, a considerate friend with keen observation and a loving husband determined to make his marriage last.
The interview is humorous at times and serious at others. Here, the slightly truncated interview:
Continue reading Tsai Yueh Hsun, A Director’s Black and White
“What are you doing?!” A very bad actor yells at Hero. (Whadda you think? He’s abducting your Barbie in broad daylight.) “Follow me!” Hero grunts at Mu Sha, ignoring the flight assistant’s (the said bad actor) frantic attempt to interfere. — I say “frantic” as a terrible hyperbole. Like, barely moving kind of frantic. — “You’re not dead?” Lei Mu Sha struggles back. Uh-uh, that’s no way to talk to an ex-lover! “Thanks to you.” Hero retorts defensively, “My life is pretty resilient.” “Did you know what you’re doing is against the law?” — Using the Law to stop Hero huh? Our pretty lady must’ve ran out of witty comebacks.
Under his two body guards’ protection, Hero fled for his life.
“I want him alive!” Zai Tian clamors as the commotion unfolds right before his eyes.
The Old Man’s look of shock gradually softens to a smile. “Alike, very alike.” he marvels. “What?” already choking on tears, Hero musters with great difficulty. “Your eyes. They look exactly like your mothers.” (Er, I just mentally dropped a wig on Hero’s head… Let’s just say the resulting image does not look very flattering.) “Who are you?” Hero demands confirmation, apparently not taking the all too plain truth very well.
To deepen Hero’s frustration, the Old Man walks away, shaking his head left and right while muttering to himself, “I was wrong. I was completely wrong!” “Can you PLEASE tell me what is going on?” Hero begs, “Isn’t Chen Zai Tian your son? What am I? Are we brothers?”
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